Toronto, Canada - December 7, 2011

Update: It seems within the first hour of these pothole stickers being used they have already caused over 14 motor vehicle accidents in the Greater Toronto area!  Monique Spendez was interviewed just minutes after the crash below and she said; “I saw this huge set of potholes in the road, I swerved to avoid them and almost ran into a van in the oncoming lane.”  She went on to say; “I then spun-out and hit a pole.”  “I will be suing the city for this!”

It is being reported that Richard Morsender of the Toronto Road and Transport Department has approved the use of pothole road stickers on a trial basis in 45 school zones throughout the GTA (Greater Toronto Area).

Last year there were more than 4,000 speeding tickets given to motorists that ignored the reduce speed signs posted in school zones in the city of Toronto.  It is estimated that pothole stickers will help reduce speed in school zones by up to 90%.

There is a great event coming up shortly and we urge everyone to participate for this worthy cause!  Our friend Dr. Raymond Cho is the chair of this charitable organization.

KSCST’s (Korean Senior Citizens Society of Toronto) 25th Walk-A-Thon on October 15, 2011 which will kick-off at 11:00am at Christie Pits Park. The Walk-A-Thon will be attended by dignitaries including MPs, MPPs, City Councillors and the Consul-General of Korea as well as members of the local and ethnic media.

The Korean Senior Citizens Society of Toronto is dedicated to promoting the physical and mental welfare of its members by offering assistance with housing and pension applications, income taxes, telephone and in-person counseling services, ESL classes, translation services, as well as organized sports and recreation activities, amongst others. Additionally, the KSCST seeks to contribute to the development of local communities within Canada through the sharing of traditional Korean culture, community volunteerism, and the practice of honouring and respecting the elderly to enrich the multicultural diversity of Canadians. Since its establishment in 1973, the KSCST has grown substantially from its 15 founding members to over 2,000 registered members throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with an average of 100 Korean seniors using their services daily.

2.7 million Canadians struggle to get enough to eat each year, 37% of which are children.   Hunger has become a reality for too many Canadians. No Canadian should go hungry. Come out to support this year’s Kamel Cup Charity event, with Suresh Joachim, to help fight hunger in our local community.

The wheels are now in motion for Suresh Joachim – film, actor, producer and

1.         The car must be pushed, and the pusher must be in direct contact with the Vehicle while pushing.

2.        Pulling the vehicle using a harness and/or rope is not permitted.

3.        The total weight of the vehicle used should be at least 730 kg (excluding driver).

4.        The car must contain a driver at all times to steer it. The engine may be running if necessary to power the brakes and steering, but the vehicle should not be put in gear during the attempt. No driver can drive for more than four hours during the attempt.

David Gold of Standard Auto Wreckers will join Suresh Joachim, where the event is taking place to mark this world record breaking feat!

The Details of the Attempt are:

VENUE:    Richmond Hill Golf & Country Club - 8905 Bathurst Street, Richmond Hill, Ontario (Golf parking lot)
START:     Friday September 23^rd at 2:00pm
FINISH:     Saturday September 24^th at 2:00pm

The event will also feature Exclusive raffles and prizes, including the chance to win $1,000,000 in “The Million Dollar Shot” sponsored by Pink Elephant Marketing & $10,000 in cash prizes in the Total Health Pharmacy Putting Content. 

Love this promo!

Bring your old tires down to 1216 Sewells Road in Scarborough on May 27 & 28 to help those less fortunate in your community.  If you have any questions or need more details please call Standard Auto Wreckers directly at 416-286-8686 or visit their website to learn more about this charity event.

Only in the USA!!

YTV showed up to Ontario’s biggest auto junk yard, Standard Auto Wreckers to have fun and video tape a segment of some fun crushing!  With halloween just around the corner it looks like they wanted to crush helpless pumpkins!!!  Stay tuned to find out what else they crushed!!

Let’s just say I think hell just froze over!!  It must have because I actually received superb customer service today.  The past two years have been a huge let-down customer service wise for me.  I had a huge blow-out with a Niagara based motel chain, terrible restaurant service at many of my local favs (Pickle Barrel, Steeles Deli Warehouse), disappointed by Starbucks as you can see in a previous posts, Mandarin really got me angry with their holiday cash grab.  Walmart tried to trick me with some fraudulent pricing and the list goes on and on….maybe I am just a crabby customer as I grow older and wiser?

Anyways, I noticed my brakes have been squeaking a bit lately in the rain but I thought it might be normal but then I figured I had the car for almost a year so maybe I needed new brake pads.  I went to the dealership and they told me “of course you need new brake pads, you have almost 30k right?”  I was at 27k but hey the dealership must know their stuff.  I asked for a quote and it was $200 just like the quote I got from the local Speedy Auto Service near my work, at 5829 Hwy. 7 East. I asked them if they give the same warranty as Speedy and they said they don’t but they will give me better brake pads.  Then they tried to tell me I should get my rotors ground or something for another $300, at that point I figured they were trying to scam me.

So I made my appointment with Speedy for just the pads and went today at 5:10pm (I should also note they agreed to stay a bit past closing time to accommodate my schedule!).  Anyhow, I dropped off my car and went next door for a burger and asked them to call me if there was any problems.  Sure enough 15 minutes later I got a call, “we looked at your brakes and you have 85% of the pad left, you definitely don’t need any brake pads.” Awesome, honest customer service.  They could have charged me $225.00 and left my old pads in and I probably never would have found out.  So thanks again to Speedy Auto Service in Markham, you have earned a life long customer and I will certainly spread the word about your great customer service and honest business practices.

Shameless plug, give them a call at 905-294-7874!

I bought a Bissel Easy Vac at Wal-Mart a few weeks ago and thought I was getting a pretty sweet deal because it was $10 off the regular price of 49.88 - but after taking a closer look I noticed the regular price which was on the floor sample was $39.88 - so I complained that it was fraud to show a falsely high regular price in order to trick consumers into thinking they got a deal.  The manager apologized and gave me $10 off so the new price was $29.88 and I was sure that was a deal!!!  I totally forgot about it (and don’t even remember which Wal-Mart this happened at) but am pretty sure it is the one in Richmond Hill, on Major Mackenzie Drive.  Anyways, I saw this picture on my iPhone and remembered how upset I was, so here is your warning!

I write this post with a heavy heart and a full stomach.  I have been enjoying the food at Mandarin for the past 20 years and have rarely left feeling ripped off.  The food is usually fresh and tasty and the service is very good.  I admit I was a little disappointed when my local Mandarin on Woodbine Ave. stopped taking those instant pictures for birthdays and special occasions but I complained and directed to the local Walmart for Instamatic film (they said their supplier no longer carried it).

I was just at Mandarin last weekend and the $23.99 price tag was quite steep and I did tell the manager they should change over to grilled steak instead of the roast beef because it was very bland.  I also noticed the lunch menu was an affordable $11.99 and figured I should give the lunch menu a try since I have not been there during the daytime in a while.

I pulled in and noticed the sign had a couple of Christmas decorations on it and I thought that was a bit odd but I assumed Mandarin was just getting into the spirit.  When I got inside they had signs posted saying it was the holiday buffet and the price had jumped to $15.99?? Wow, over 40% increase and most places have holiday sales, not holiday gouges….

I asked the hostess what was different for the ‘holiday buffet’ that was priced so much higher and she said she did not know but to look around.  I did just that and did not notice anything special except lamb chops (which I don’t eat) - I was on my lunch break from work and did not really have time to start lunch elsewhere, plus it was minus 8 outside so I figured I would just cough-up (excuse my language) the extra cash.   I saw a manager just then and asked what was so special about the holiday buffet that warranted the extra change and he said,”you will see”, I told him I found the lamb chops and didn’t like them, was there anything else?  He gave me a very cryptic answer to the effect of: “If I did not come here all the time I would not notice”.

I ate and the food/service was pretty good, although the black forest cake was still frozen and chocolate dipped strawberries were replaced by chocolate dipped marshmallows.  On my way out I grabbed a few business cards for the managing partners of that location (Mandarin Box Grove) figuring I would send off an email complaint about the price grab but then lucky for me I saw one of the managing partners at the front, so I asked Jeff Cui why the price was so much higher for the holiday and I didn’t really notice anything different from normal.  He told me it was the equivalent of the weekend buffet and that is why it was more expensive.  When I asked him what was different other than the lamb chops he didn’t reply.  He just said that Mandarin has been raising prices for the holidays for the past twenty years. I then told him that it would be considerate to put a sign outside to notify people so they don’t park and come in out of the freezing cold to find that price has jumped 40% - he told me they put something on the sign to cover it but I told him if they were going to do that why not cover it with the new price or better yet post a new sign.  He asked me quite sarcastically whether I knew the price of a new sign.  I told him to give me a break and I was sure Mandarin could afford it.

In closing I want to say that I think raising your prices at the holiday season is a bit shady and I do understand going out to eat is a luxury I just think a 40% price increase without posting it outside is sneaky and it definitely made me leave with a bad taste in my mouth.

I was lucky enough to attend a little cheque exchange for $10,000 at a local auto wreckers facilities today. OARA whose members have agreed to pay an extra $20 per vehicle they acquire though the Retire your Ride car recycling program donated to a great charity, 10,000 trees that owner David Gold recommended to them.  In the below pic is Ken Gold, politician Raymond Cho, Colin Creasey from 10,000 trees and David Gold.